Panelbeaters claim that parts will be replaced when I found out the parts were fixed at the expense of my insurance.

Claim number : BUS0830-CONSTA-***2 - G WOLMARANS

Client : Mr G Wolmarans ID : *** Vehicle Reg Number : HH 96 GW GP Service Provider : Milano Panelbeaters

Persons involved :

A) Eben Lotz : From Milano Panelbeaters ***‬ : Workshop Manager. Cell Number : ***. E-mail : ***

B) Romano Small : From Milano Panelbeaters ‭***‬ : Administration manager. Cell Number : ***. E-mail : ***

C) Mr G Wolmarans : Owner of the vehicle in question. Cell : ***. E-mail : ***

D) Mr Steven De Bruyn : External assecor from : CASMA motor assessors. Cell : ***. E-mail : ***

30th of March 2020 : Mr Wolmarans received an e-mail from his insurer approving his hail damage claim on his vehicle. HH 96 GW GP.

Early April Mr Wolmarans received a call from Mr Lotz at Milano panelbeaters in Pretoria west informing him that Milano was selected to do the repairs on his vehicle and that Mr Lotz has ordered the needed parts for the repair namely : the bonnet, boot and roof. Mr Wolmarans was instructed to expect a call from Mr Lotz after level 5 to discuss the date the vehicle should be delivered for repairs at Milano panelbeaters. Mr Lotz informed Mr Wolmarans that the repairs should take two weeks seeing that the workshop is not as busy as they usually would have been due to lockdown conditions. This was the last time up until 29th of July 2020 that Mr Wolmarans received any telephonic communication from Milano panelbeaters.

The fourth week of May 2020 : Mr Wolmarans called Milano panelbeaters to check on repair dates and details. Not hearing from them till end of May 2020 made Mr Wolmarans nervous seeing his car encountered the hail damage approximately two months ago. Mr Wolmarans got through to Mr Lotz who explained he was forgetful and neglected to contact Mr Wolmarans to request a permit in order to book his vehicle for the discussed repair and the permit should indicate Mr Wolmarans is an essential worker. Mr Wolmarans e-mailed the permit to *** on 25th of May 2020. It was on this day that Mr Wolmarans informed Mr Lotz of the splash guard that also needed to be ordered to be replaced seeing it has also undergone damage due to the hail. Mr Lotz rep**** by saying he would call Mr Wolmarans and let him know when his vehicle was scheduled for repair and also when the parts would arrive.

2nd June 2020 : Mr Wolmarans contacted Milano panelbeaters to find out when his vehicle was scheduled to go in for repairs seeing he had to rent a vehicle for the duration of the repair. Mr Wolmarans requested the cell phone number of Mr Lotz from reception seeing that none of the calls Mr Wolmarans made to the landline was answered or returned. When Wolmarans called Mr Lotz on his cell phone he told Mr Wolmarans the parts for his vehicle repair will be delivered to Milano panelbeaters on 3rd of June seeing that it would not be advisable to repair large surfaces such as a bonnet or roof. During this phone-call that Mr Wolmarans made he was requested to deliver his vehicle for repairs on the 3rd Of June 2020 to which he rep**** that this was short notice and that he can have the vehicle delivered to Milano Panelbeaters on the 4th of June.

4th June 2020 between and 8am and 9am : Mr Wolmarans delivered his vehicle at Milano Panelbeaters which was the first time Mr Wolmarans and Mr Lotz met in person and Mr Lotz saw the vehicle for the first time to which he requested a fellow college to view the damage on the roof and bonnet and they together confirmed that a repair job was out of the question and the replacement of the roof and bonnet was put in place seeing the parts was already ordered. Mr Lotz explained that the vehicle will be repaired in approx two weeks and Mr Lotz was reminded by Mr Wolmarans to order the splashguard which also needed replacing due to extensive damage from the hail. Mr Wolmarans on 4th of June 2020 requested to view the parts which was supposed to be delivered on the 3rd of June to which Mr Lotz rep**** that the ordered parts would only be delivered on the 4th of June to Milano panelbeaters.

On Thursday the 4th of June Mr Wolmarans reluctantly then signed paperwork proving the delivery of the vehicle for repair and Mr Wolmarans was informed that he would receive pictures via e-mail of every stage of the repair. Mr Wolmarans left Milano Panelbeaters to collect his rented vehicle from Europcar in Hatfield.

For the next two weeks - 4th of June till 17th of June - Mr Wolmarans received no updates or pictures vie e-mail or any form of telephonic communication from Milano panelbeaters or Mr Lotz.

17th of June 2020 : Mr Wolmarans called Milano panelbeaters asking to transfer him to Mr Lotz after which he was placed on hold and received no callback from Milano panelbeaters or Mr Lotz. Due to no communication and no photographic updates Mr Wolmarans called back and requested to speak to the supervisor or person above Mr Lotz. Mr Wolmarans explained the unsatisfactory service he had received and the first of many missed deadlines to Mr Lotz’s superior. Mr Wolmarans received an e-mail explaining the delay in repairs and the reasons for the missed deadline from mR Small to which Mr Lotz rep**** and stated that the vehicle will be ready for collection end of week 3 in June (26th of June 2020).

On the evening of the 19th of June Mr Wolmarans received an e-mail containing 5 photos of the vehicle in the body repair phase. This lead Mr Wolmarans to believe that his vehicle stored on the premises from the 4th of June till around the 19th of June with no work or evidence of any work done during this period.

23rd of June : Mr Wolmarans called Mr Lotz on his cell phone because he again could not get a callback or answer on the office number of Milano panelbeaters after he asked reception to put him through to the workshop. Mr Lotz after the second call answered his cell and Mr Wolmarans was requested to supply him with his name and vehicle registration number as he did not recognise who he was talking to and to what vehicle Mr Wolmarans was referring to.

Mr Wolmarans supp**** his registration number and Mr Lotz said they were on schedule with the repairs and that I would receive my vehicle in the next few days.

On the 24th of June Mr Wolmarans’s broker was informed of the poor service he received and an e-mail was sent from the broker to Milano panelbeaters. Mr Wolmarans received the second and last e-mail from Milano panelbeaters which included photos of the vehicle in the body repairing phase. This is already one week past the initial deadline given by Mr Lotz.

25th of June : After still receiving no feedback Mr Wolmarans called Mr Lotz again on his cellphone with no answer after which he then again called Milano requesting reception to put him through to Mr Lotz. He answered the call and explained that my vehicle is standing in line to go into the paint booth on the 25th of June. This made Mr Wolmarans extremely anxious as it was now clearly evident that the vehicle was not worked on for the first two weeks since the delivery of the vehicle on the 4th of June 2020.

On the 26th June 13h30 Mr Wolmarans called Milano to check on progress of the reported paint job done 25th to which Mr Lotz rep**** that the vehicle is only scheduled to go in for painting on Friday 26th June. At this stage Mr Wolmarans was convinced that every progress report he had to request for from Milano panelbeaters or Mr Lotz was false.

Mr Lotz however told Mr Wolmarans that the vehicle would be ready for delivery on Monday 29th June. This was the officially the third time a deadline was missed.

29th June : Mr Wolmarans requested Steven De Bruyn an external Assecor to accompany Mr Wolmarans to pick up the vehicle in question and do a quality inspection. After Mr wolmarans called Mr Lotz at 15h on Monday 29th June Mr Lotz said that the vehicle is again not ready for collection and that he now has to re-assemble the parts as the vehicle just came out of the spray booth.

Hereafter Mr Wolmarans again requested to speak to Mr Small - Mr Lotz’s supervisor as Mr Wolmarans was clearly given the run around. Mr Wolmarans again explained all his grievances and concerns to Romano Small from Milano Panelbeaters. Mr Wolmarans again had to inform his broker that he still hasn’t received the vehicle and that the car rental is now running out.

On tuesday 30th of June Mr Wolmarans requested an external assecor named Steven De Bruyn to inspect his vehicle standing at Milano panelbeaters. Mr De Bruyn informed Mr Wolmarans that after inspection he considered the vehicle in no state to be delivered and that he noticed that the parts - that was supposed to be replaced : the roof, bonnet and boot - may not actually be new parts and that Milano panelbeaters tried to repair these parts without informing the client or the insurer. The workshop did not succeed in these repairs as imperfections was easily picked up by Mr De Bruyn during the re-assembly process and the failed attempts to remove the dents caused by hail damage.

Wed 1st July 2020 : Mr Wolmarans arrived unannounced at Milano Panelbeaters in Pretoria West at 15h30 where he noticed the vehicle standing outside of the assembly line with no technicians or staff members working on the vehicle. He requested to see Mr Small in order to request a detailed progress report and job cards of the times, dates and details that the vehicle was worked on. Mr Small rep**** that he will call Mr Lotz for this.

Mr Wolmarans stepped onto the workshop floor approaching his vehicle where he then inspected the state of the vehicle personally and picked up imperfections on the supposed replacement of the roof and bonnet.

Before Mr Wolmarans could inspect the vehicle entirely Mr Lotz arrived and informed Mr Wolmarans that the vehicle is now in the process of being cleaned. Mr Wolmarans asked a few questions regarding the imperfections he noted and why the vehicle has taken so long to be repaired. Mr Lotz rep**** that the duration of replacing the roof by itself is close to a week of labour, which is supposedly why they have taken this long.

At this stage Mr Wolmarans was extremely distressed about his vehicle due to the fact that Mr Lotz now added that he had not done any repairs on the left hand side of the vehicle. Mr Wolmarans knew that the vehicle sustained major damages on the right hand side and top side of the vehicle plus minor damages on the left side.

Mr Wolmarans raised his concern verbally to Mr Lotz and moved to the front side of his vehicle and noticed that the splash guard he requested Mr Lotz to order two days before the 4th of June 2020 was still not replaced.

Mr Wolmarans left the premises in a state of disbelief and frustration after Mr Lotz requested him to not distress about the vehicle any longer as they are going to fit the splash guard which should take 30min and that the vehicle should be ready for pick up on Thursday the 2nd of July 2020.

Thursday 2nd July : Mr De Bruyn again went into Milano to view the vehicle and this time he was convinced that the parts promised by Mr Lotz to be replaced was repaired and the extremely *********** quality of work indicated this clearly.

Mr De Bruyn added that the holes where the boot and bonnet was supposed to be inserted was stretched by Milano Panelbeaters and this affected the internal bodywork of the vehicle.

Mr Wolmarans’s broker was immediately informed of these findings. Mr Wolmarans called Milano panelbeaters for the last time requesting to speak to mr Small and not Mr Lotz after which Mr Wolmarans immediately expected a full progress report related to the findings done by Mr De Bruyn and a full explanation of the ***********, inappropriate and false progress reports and updates Mr Wolmarans received since the 4th of June.

Upon a callback from Milano panelbeaters, the receptionist put Mr Wolmarans through to Mr Lotz, which is what Mr Wolmarans was trying to avoid at all costs. Firstly Mr Wolmarans was assured by Mr Lotz that the repairs have finally been done and that the vehicle should be ready for collection soon. Mr Wolmarans asked about the road worthy tests that should be done according to the website of Milano panelbeaters to check for rattles and the internal workings of the vehicle’s framework. Mr Lotz finally to the dismay of Mr Wolmarans added that Milano panelbeaters do not do these roadworthy tests on vehicles with hail damage.

Most of the questions that kept on coming up about this nightmare of a repair process was asked directly to Mr Lotz by Mr Wolmarans over the phone to which Mr Lotz only made apologies and said he was not aware of the parts on my vehicle being fixed instead of being replaced as promised.

Friday 3rd of July 2020. Mr Wolmarans was notified by his broker that his claim has now been escalated to the top assecor from Constantia and that this new assessor would visit Milano panelbeaters Friday 3rd July 2020.

Mr Wolmarans once again currently awaits feedback on the state of his claim and the decisions that need to be made for the safe return of Mr Wolmarans’s vehicle.

May I ask if it is not too much to ask for and if Milano panelbeaters and Mr Lotz could be so kind to answer the following five questions that directly influence this experience I tried to avoid at all costs:

Mr Wolmarans herewith would like to state the following : “I do not feel that my vehicle has undergone the appropriate and safe repair services any client deserves. The three weeks of constantly checking up on the status of my vehicle and not receiving the service I expect from a service provider working on a claim of close to ninety thousand rand cannot be undone. This is hands down the worst experience I had to endure and as of yet I’m still not sure of the outcome of this most unwanted experience.

While my vehicle was stored at Milano panelbeaters for longer than a month,during which I have no evidential paper trails of supposed work done - I can impossibly be assured that some parts inside my vehicle have not been extracted and replaced with worn parts. Worst of all I suspect ******** and inappropriate procedures done on my vehicle and I’m sure after reading the info above you will agree I have good reason to suspect this. I do however have no way of proving the above and unfortunately only Mr Lotz and Milano panelbeaters know if this is merely a suspicion or existing facts.”